


A Choice to be Proud of

by turtleeden



Category: Persona 3, Persona Series
Genre: F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, P3 Spoilers, ShuYukaWeek2020, finally made a contribution!, i hope you all enjoy!, just in case
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:49:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25531618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtleeden/pseuds/turtleeden
Summary: As SEES counts down the days until New Year's Eve, Minato in particular is feeling very depressed because of the choice he must make. Not willing to let him wallow in self-isolation and despair, Yukari moves to cheer him up... and give him a little of her perspective.(Day 6 Prompt for ShuYuka Week: Hurt/Comfort)
Relationships: Arisato Minato/Takeba Yukari, Persona 3 Protagonist/Takeba Yukari, Takeba Yukari/Yuuki Makoto
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39
Collections: Shuyuka Week





	A Choice to be Proud of

The sound of the front door opening caught the attention of everyone who was currently in the lobby. Ken was with Koromaru, currently getting ready to take him for a walk. Mitsuru was sitting in one of the lounging chairs with a book in her hands, and Yukari had a magazine in hers as she was sitting on one of the sofas. Everyone turned their heads towards the dorm’s entrance and saw Minato entering the building. Yukari smiled at him as she lowered the magazine in her hands.

“Hey.” she greeted.

Minato said nothing in response, but he did smile back at her. It was a ghost of a smile that was barely visible, so much so that you could miss it if you blinked. Luckily, Yukari caught the sight of it, but Minato’s smile quickly disappeared as he walked towards the stairs without a word to the others.

Yukari sighed to herself sadly as she shook her head. He’s walking off on his own again. It’s no secret that everyone’s been depressed for the past month. But who could blame them -- especially Minato -- for feeling down? Especially after what they’ve learned after the incident with Ryoji and Aigis.

All this time, Minato had this great power within him that has seen SEES through the toughest of battles against the Shadows. Now, thanks to harboring death inside of him, he was now able to make a choice that would either grant everyone -- including himself -- blissful unawareness until the Fall, or to fight against Nyx with an almost certain chance of death awaiting everyone. While everyone had their own thoughts about what decision they would make, Minato himself was the one who was carrying the brunt of that weight. He’s the one that actually could act on it after all.

Lately, whenever he would arrive at the dorm in the evening, Minato would hardly say a word to anyone, even when someone would welcome him back. The most that he would give to anyone that greets him is a fleeting half-smile that would disappear as soon as it came. He would arrive, go upstairs, and he wouldn’t come back down again until the next day. He hardly even goes out into the city like he used to. The only times that he would go out nowadays is to either prepare for training in Tartarus, or to take Koromaru out for a walk.

Yukari couldn’t imagine what was going on in Minato’s head right now. As strong and as special as he is, he’s still human. He must be going through a lot. But even though she understood that… she couldn’t just let him wallow in self-isolation like this.

With that in mind, she knew what she needed to do.

Yukari put her magazine down on the coffee table and got up from the couch, intending to follow Minato. Once she stood up, Mitsuru raised her head up slightly from her book and raised a brow at her, looking surprised at her sudden action.

“Yukari?” she inquired. There was a twinge of worry that Yukari could hear in Mitsuru’s voice. Ah, now that they’re closer as friends, Mitsuru was so easy to read. Honestly, she was lucky that most of her face was obscured by her book. Regardless, Yukari shook her head in assurance, opting to ease Mitsuru’s worries rather than tease her.

“Relax, Senpai. I’m just gonna stretch my legs. I’ll be fine.” she said.

“...I see.” Mitsuru replied, bowing her head down to pick up where she left off. With that settled, Yukari headed upstairs, hoping to catch up with Minato.

When Yukari followed Minato, she was a little surprised to see that he wasn’t heading towards his room like she thought. Instead, he went higher up to the fourth floor and headed towards the door that led to the roof.

“Isn’t that door locked?” Yukari wondered aloud to herself. But much to her surprise, Minato opened the door with ease and went through it, completely unbothered by it all.

“What the…? Have you been going up there the whole time?” Yukari questioned as she watched him go outside. The door to the roof has been locked ever since that first incident in spring, when the Shadows attacked the dorm. And it remained off-limits, especially after that first incident with Junpei and Chidori. So the fact that Minato could open the door with no problem told Yukari that he’s been going to the roof for a while now.

“....”

Yukari frowned to herself before she shook her head and walked towards the unlocked door. She took hold of the doorknob and turned it, before pushing it open. Once Yukari opened the door, she was met with a chilly, winter breeze. She shuddered as she felt the wind blow against her body, but despite that chill, she stepped out to the roof and closed the door behind her. There, standing in the middle of the roof with his hands in his pockets, was Minato.

Minato didn’t seem to pay any mind to Yukari coming to the roof. His head was tilted upward as he stared at the moon with a vacant look to his eye. The moon wasn’t full, no… there won’t be another full moon until New Year’s Eve. Right now, the moon barely even had a crescent showing, and yet Minato stared up at the sky as if the moon really was full. He had his headphones in his ears as he stood still, with only the strands of his blue hair blowing against the cool breeze. Yukari’s expression softened as she watched him stand there in complete silence. To her, Minato looked… outright lonely. All that she could sense from him right now was an aura of melancholy, and it made her heart sink.

“Minato…” Yukari murmured sadly, averting her gaze from him for a moment. She shuddered once again as she endured the chill of the evening breeze. Gah! Why was it getting so cold tonight?! No matter… despite her slight discomfort from the winter weather right now, Minato’s well being was more important. With that in mind, Yukari moved away from the door and walked towards where Minato was standing. Once she joined him, Yukari could see a small smile forming upon his lips.

“...I was wondering how long you were going to just stand there.” he said.

Yukari’s eyes grew wide at the comment he made. Did… Did he know that she was following him all the way up here? And he didn’t say anything about it until now?! Ugh, that was SO like him to do that! Yukari couldn’t help but feel a little put out.

“Oh, really? That should be my line, you know. You’ve got some nerve saying something like that!” Yukari scoffed, smiling despite her retort. 

Minato simply chuckled softly under his breath, clearly amused at her response. Yukari rolled her eyes over him laughing at her, but at the same time, she felt a bit of relief. Instead of it disappearing as soon as it came, that small smile of his was still there as he laughed. She’ll gladly take that small victory.

Yukari took a moment to look up at the night sky, staring at the crescent moon above their heads. Perhaps it was because it wasn’t currently the Dark Hour, or because the moon wasn’t full right now, but the sky looked somewhat... peaceful to her. Their current surroundings were still and quiet, and the only sounds that Yukari could hear were the wind blowing against her body, and the muffled sounds of music coming from Minato’s headphones. Despite her worrying about Minato, everything just felt so calm up here on the roof.

Eventually, Yukari felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned her head to see Minato offering her one of his headphones so that she could listen along with him. Whenever the two of them are alone together, Minato sometimes does that as a way to be close. So Yukari was happy to see him do it now, especially when she knew that he was feeling depressed lately.

“Thanks.” she thanked, smiling at him before slipping the left headphone against her ear. She had grown more used to Minato’s taste in music, so listening to the tracks on his MP3 player didn’t bother her at all. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounding beats, waiting for the moment where Minato would be comfortable enough to open up to her. And sure enough, the moment came.

“...Sorry.” he said softly, eyes falling down to the ground.

“For what?” Yukari asked.

“For being distant lately. That’s why you followed me up here, isn’t it?”

“Mm, sort of. But it’s not like I don’t get it.” Yukari answered. She opened her eyes once more to look at the moon. The calm atmosphere that she was feeling up to this point changed into a feeling of foreboding. The calm before the storm… or rather, the end of the world.

“In fact, I totally get why.” she added.

Minato said nothing in response, and silence filled the area once more. Yukari looked over at Minato to see his hands shifting in his pockets, his small smile fading, and his eyes dimming into a melancholic gaze as he stared at the ground. Yukari’s own smile faded as she watched his mood shift, and as a result, she tried to think of something to change the subject. As she tried to think, Yukari kept looking at her surroundings. There was nothing there on the roof, of course. But the roof did hold some significance to both her and Minato, and Yukari’s small smile returned as she thought of that fact.

“It’s been a while since we were up on the roof like this,” she said. “It’s a bit cold, but I’ll gladly take that over what happened the last time it was the two of us up here.”

Last time… the night that Minato first awakened to his Persona. If he hadn’t awakened then, then the both of them would’ve died at the hands of that huge Shadow that attacked the dorm. He saved her that night, and since then… they’ve both grown immensely, and not just in terms of power. Yukari chuckled under her breath when the thought occurred to her.

“It almost feels like that night happened a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?” she asked, turning her head towards Minato.

“...Yeah.” Minato agreed, nodding.

“So much has happened, it’s hard to wrap my head around it sometimes. But, that’s okay. It just goes to show that I’m not the same person I was back then.” It was then that Yukari tied her hands behind her back, giving Minato a curious glance as she peered over at his face. 

“Hey, Minato… can I ask you something?” she asked.

“Like what?” he responded, blinking in confusion.

“Are you proud of what happened this year?”

Minato blinked in confusion again as he looked at Yukari, completely dumbfounded. “What’s this all of a sudden?” he asked.

“It’s nothing special. Just asking an honest question,” Yukari replied. “So…?”

“....” Minato, in his silence, just stared at her quizzically.

“Come on, humor me.” Yukari goaded on, trying to get him to speak.

“Weirdo.” Minato said simply, shaking his head at her.

“Hey! What’s so weird about that? I’m being serious here!” Yukari huffed, holding her hand to her hip as she frowned. It was then that Minato finally cracked a smile at her. Seeing that, Yukari sighed to herself. She really didn’t know why he thought teasing her like that was so amusing to him. Maybe it was because she always falls for those one-word responses of his that tends to get her riled up. Jerk.

Minato, in the meanwhile, lifted his head to look up at the moon once more. He grew quiet again, but there was notably more life to his gaze than there was before. Instead of just looking at the moon blankly, he looked at it as though he was deep in thought. Yukari felt herself growing nervous, wondering if her question was too heavy after all. But… there was a reason that she asked him that question, and she was planning to elaborate on that. But before she could, Minato beat her to the punch.

“Yukari… does that question have anything to do with your decision?” he asked.

“...You got me,” Yukari answered, her smile faint. “Yeah, I’ve made my decision.”

“I see…” Minato trailed off.

“Don’t worry, I’m not asking that question in order to make you choose or anything. I’m just hoping that this will help you out, no matter which way you’re leaning.” Yukari assured.

“Huh?” Minato questioned, returning his focus to Yukari with a curious look in his eye. Yukari’s expression changed into something more calm and resolute as her smile grew. Now she had her chance to elaborate.

“You know, I’ve seen a lot of things this year,” she began. “A lot of betrayal, a lot of tragedy, a lot of doubt, and we’ve been through a lot of terrifying things in the battles we fought. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. I’ve experienced strength, hope, courage… love…”

Yukari gave Minato a knowing look once she said the word ‘love.’ Once he saw that look of hers, a faint blush appeared on his cheeks as he smiled at her. Good. He got the hint.

“All of those things made up for my experiences this year, and overall… I’m pretty glad for it. I know that I’m not the same girl who stepped into this dorm in the spring. Not only have I learned the truth about my dad, I’ve made some pretty irreplaceable friends along the way… and I even met someone that I care deeply about. So… I’m proud of how I lived. That’s how I feel.”

“Proud…” Minato repeated to himself, as if the word was somewhat heavy on his tongue. “Is that right? I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”

“Sure is! That’s why I asked you that question,” Yukari said, nodding firmly. “Minato… I know that you’ve got a lot on your mind right now. And knowing you, I’ll know you’ll probably be stewing over this until the time comes. But no matter what choice you come up with, make sure that it’s a choice you can be proud of.”

“Yukari…”

“And remember; You’ve got me at your corner too. I’ll be by your side, no matter what.”

“...Regardless of what I choose?” Minato asked.

“Regardless.” Yukari assured.

Minato looked a little taken aback by Yukari’s statement, now that he knew her reasoning. But even though he was surprised, his face lightened up a bit from the melancholy that plagued him for the past few weeks. Yukari looked relieved once she saw that change in his expression. Whatever was going on in Minato’s head, Yukari’s words must’ve helped him out somehow. Now that was a true victory.

“A choice to be proud of, huh…” he repeated to himself, sounding more satisfied with himself than before. “Thank you, Yukari.”

“No problem,” Yukari assured, lightly nudging him in the arm. “Now, c’mon. Let’s get back inside. It’s not the Dark Hour yet, but it’s cold out here! You’ll get sick, and then we’ll really worry about you.”

“Heh… guess you’re right.” Minato said. It was then that he took one of his hands out of his pockets and offered it to her. “So once we get inside, you wanna keep listening in with me? My headphone’s been in your ear the whole time we’ve been talking.”

“Haha! Yeah, I can spare a few hours before bed.” Yukari laughed, taking his hand into her own. With that little promise made, the two of them walked back towards the roof’s entrance hand in hand. Once they returned inside, they went over to Yukari’s room, intending to spend the rest of the evening together.


End file.
